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Comprehensive Summary: Ammonia (NH3) is one of the most important industrial feedstocks in the fields of fertilizers, drugs, explosives, ordnance, commercial cleanings, and so on. However, the features of ammonia such as high toxicity and corrosivity, and difficulty in handling would inevitably increase the risk of environmental damage and the deterioration of natural/public lands. Although sorts of solid adsorbents such as metal oxides, zeolites, organic polymers, activated carbons, and metal organic frameworks have been applied in NH3 capture, they still show low uptake capacity, low affinities, and instability. Herein, we developed the first case of a highly stable sulfuric acid covalent organic framework (COF), namely TpBD‐(SO3H)2, as NH3 capturer, in which sulfonic acid sites can strongly interact with NH3 molecules, and enhance the performance of NH3 sorption. As a result, TpBD‐(SO3H)2 shows high chemical stability under strong acid and water conditions, an important merit for the potential application in harsh environment. And it also exhibits high ammonia capacity of 11.5 mmol·g−1 at 298 K and 1.0 bar, making it one of the best in all chemically stable NH3 adsorbents up to date. This work thus develops sulfuric acid COF materials as a new platform for ammonia capture and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study developed the one-step catalytic cracking conceptual design using a two-stage riser reactor (OSCO). Molecular-level process models and multi-objective optimization strategies are also carried out. Results show that the OSCO process exhibits superior techno-economic, society, people's livelihood, and environmental performance. [Display omitted] • A novel process is proposed to crack naphtha, kerosene, diesel and heavy oil in the two-stage riser reactor efficiently. • A novel integration model of mixed fraction structure and molecular level is proposed. • The multi-objective optimization strategies using systematic solution algorithm are performed. • The novel process shows superior techno-economic, society, people's livelihood, and environmental performance. With the demand for vehicle fuels (i.e., gasoline and diesel) is expected to decline soon, crude oil to chemical technology exhibits great potential to drive the next industry transition. This megatrend has led to studies on maximizing the production of low-carbon petrochemicals at the cost of fuels, which requires aggressive ways of converting oil into chemicals in a clean and efficient pattern. Herein, we proposed a novel process, termed OSCO, to crack naphtha, kerosene, diesel and heavy oil in a two-stage riser reactor efficiently, which can perform several refining procedures in the two-stage riser reactor vessel. A novel integration model of mixed fraction structure and molecular level is proposed. The multi-objective optimization strategies are also carried out to solve the optimization problem. As a result, the OSCO process can stably convert untreated heavy Daqing crude oil into light olefins with total yields of ethylene and propylene over 33 wt%, which also exhibits superior techno-economic, society, people's livelihood, and environmental performance. These insights may have a positive pushing role in engineering design, process intensification, and the optimization of direct catalytic cracking of crude oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incompatible cross-platform detection technologies adopted for different medical scenarios has caused several problems in the clinical detection of disease biomarkers. Here, we developed a unified platform with hierarchical performance for biomarker detection. A hexagonal star-nanostructured DNAzyme was constructed. It shows excellent catalytic activity towards the deposition of polydopamine, which is capable of presenting colorimetric signals directly and is also scalable to present fluorescent and electrochemical signals by conjugating with quantum dots. This scalable detection system is validated for the detection of both nucleic acid biomarkers (miRNAs) and protein biomarkers (carcinoembryonic antigen and platelet-derived growth factor). Results show that the detection system can adapt to the current colorimetric, fluorescent and electrochemical equipment, possess the advantage of high efficiency and low-cost, and present hierarchical performance in terms of operability and sensitivity, making it possible to verify the results in a unified system and to switch the detection methods according to different scenarios. [Display omitted] • The unified platform showed excellent advantages in efficiency and cost of biomarker detection. • A nanostructured DNAzyme was constructed to realize efficient deposition of dopamine. • The scalable platform is validated for the detection of both nucleic acid and protein biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The development of diabetes vascular calcification (VC) is tightly associated with the inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) autophagy. Previously, our team found that miR-32-5p (miR-32) promotes macrophage activation, and miR-32 is expressed at higher level in the plasma of patients with coronary calcification. However, whether miR-32 mediates the function of macrophages in type 2 diabetes (T2D) VC is still unclear.Methods: Wild-type (WT) and miR-32-/- mice were used in this study. qRT-PCR and western blotting were used to analyze gene expression. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the influence of glucose concentration on macrophage polarization. Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), transmission electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy were used to identify macrophage extracellular vehicles (EVs). Immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization (ISH), immunohistochemistry, and alizarin red staining were used to analyze the influence of macrophage EVs on autophagy and calcification of the aorta of miR-32-/- mice. A luciferase assay was used to analyze the effect of miR-32 on myocyte enhancer factor 2D (Mef2d) expression. Co-IP combined with mass spectrometry (MS) and transcriptome sequencing was used to analyze the signalling pathway by which Mef2d acts in VSMC autophagy.Results: We found that high glucose conditions upregulate miR-32 expression in macrophages and their EVs. Importantly, macrophages and their EVs promote VSMC osteogenic differentiation and upregulate miR-32 expression in VSMCs. Moreover, miR-32 mimics transfection promoted osteogenic differentiation and inhibited autophagy in VSMCs. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that Mef2d is the key target gene of miR-32 that inhibits VSMC autophagy. Furthermore, MS and transcriptome sequencing found that cGMP-PKG is an important signalling pathway by which Mef2d regulates VSMC autophagy. In addition, after T2D miR-32-/- mice were injected with macrophage EVs via the caudal vein, miR-32 was detected in aortic VSMCs of miR-32-/- mice. Moreover, autophagy was significantly inhibited, and calcification was significantly enhanced in aorta cells.Conclusions: These results reveal that EVs are the key pathway by which macrophages promote T2D VC, and that EVs miR-32 is a key cause of autophagy inhibition in VSMCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture (SM) is an important land-surface parameter. Although microwave remote sensing is recognized as one of the most appropriate methods for retrieving SM, such retrievals often cannot meet the requirements of specific applications because of their coarse spatial resolution and spatiotemporal data gaps. A range of general models (GMs) for SM analysis topics (e.g., gap-filling, forecasting, and downscaling) have been introduced to address these shortcomings. This work presents a novel strategy (i.e., optimized wavelet-coupled fitting method (OWCM)) to enhance the fitting accuracy of GMs by introducing a wavelet transform (WT) technique. Four separate GMs are selected, i.e., elastic network regression, area-to-area regression kriging, random forest regression, and neural network regression. The fitting procedures are then tested within a downscaling analysis implemented between aggregated Global Land Surface Satellite products (i.e., LAI, FVC, albedo), Thermal and Reanalysis Integrating Medium-resolution Spatial-seamless LST, and Random Forest Soil Moisture (RFSM) datasets in both the WT space and the regular space. Then, eight fine-resolution SM datasets mapped from the trained GMs and OWCMs are analyzed using direct comparisons with in situ SM measurements and indirect intercomparisons between the aggregated OWCM-/GM-derived SM and RFSM. The results demonstrate that OWCM-derived SM products are generally closer to the in situ SM observations, and better capture in situ SM dynamics during the unfrozen season, compared to the corresponding GM-derived SM product, which shows fewer time changes and more stable trends. Moreover, OWCM-derived SM products represent a significant improvement over corresponding GM-derived SM products in terms of their ability to spatially and temporally match RFSM. Although spatial heterogeneity still substantially impacts the fitting accuracies of both GM and OWCM SM products, the improvements of OWCMs over GMs are significant. This improvement can likely be attributed to the fitting procedure of OWCMs implemented in the WT space, which better captures high- and low-frequency image features than in the regular space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration of uranium in the rock sample was 35.0 μg/g, the concentration ratio of CO2 and O2 injected was 1:1, the autoclaves pressure was 0.02 MPa. The uranium leaching rate varied from 28.70 to 37.97%, and when the concentration of HCO3− is lower, the output rate of U is significantly increased as it increases, when its concentration exceeds the threshold value, U’s output concentration is no longer infinitely increased. Calcite and dolomite were saturated and precipitated during the leaching process due to the high initial pH; with the injection of CO2, calcite and dolomite remained near- or under-saturated and did not precipitate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A rational coating-integrated-into-synthesis design was used to prepare surface Ti-enriched NMC811 material. • The Ti substitute has a unique tri-valence (Ti3+) in a gradient surface distribution. • The surface Ti-enriched NMC811has high cationic ordering both in the bulk and surface. • Theoretical simulations certify enhanced stability of lattice oxygen for the NMC811#Ti material. • The NMC811#Ti cathode shows improved cycling performance and thermal/ storage stabilities. High-Ni cathodes are being intensely pursued worldwide for electric vehicles and other energy-dense applications due to their high capacity and low cost. However, structural instabilities during electrochemical cycling and when subjected to thermal treatment have been the major issues hindering their practical deployment. We here report a rational design of coating-integrated-into-synthesis protocol for fabricating surface Ti-enriched LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 (NMC811#Ti) material. The coating to intermediates is crucial to obtain high structural ordering, both in the bulk and surface of high-Ni cathodes, and the Ti substitute has a unique tri-valence (Ti3+) in a gradient surface distribution. The simulations of projected density of states in the atomistic understanding further certify significantly enhanced stability of lattice oxygen for the NMC811 through such a Ti3+-based structure reinforcement. Consequently, the NMC811#Ti cathode delivers a high capacity up to 200 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, along with superior stabilities during air-storage and thermal treatment (up to 297 °C at the fully charged state under differential scanning calorimetric measurements). The corresponding NMC811#Ti||graphite full cell exhibits a desired 83.6 % capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 0.5 C in a voltage range of 2.8–4.3 V. This work demonstrates a delicate surface reinforcement to stabilize high-Ni cathodes for long-life and safe lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li‐ion hybrid supercapacitors (LHSCs) are intensely studied due to their favorable power densities. However, combined higher energy density materials, particularly anodes, are desirably sought. Herein, a defect‐dominating structure protocol is reported. Specifically, two visible structural defects, i.e., crystal vacancy and lattice distortion have been introduced in situ in ultrafine niobium nitride (NbN) monocrystals that are integrated into a carbon (C) framework. Highly reversible Li‐ion storage capacities up to 540 mAh g−1 are demonstrated in such a NbN@C composite anode, together with excellent rate capability and cycling stability. An extra vacancy‐induced capacity contribution of the defective NbN component is evidenced by first‐principles density functional theory (DFT) simulations in contrast to perfect modeling. Coupling with an activated carbon (AC) cathode, the NbN@C//AC cell can deliver balanced energy and power densities of 53.8 Wh kg−1 and 7818 W kg−1 at 4 A g−1, and retain a desired energy density of 56.1 Wh kg−1 after 10 000 cycles at 1 A g−1. Findings from this study, particularly the demonstrated defects‐induced extra capacity of pseudocapacitive materials, may inspire new structural material designs of LHSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization has brought about many problems in urban environments, including the deterioration of the thermal environment, which greatly affects the sustainable development of cities and the health of urban residents. Therefore, a comprehensive and thorough study of the thermal environment is necessary. In this study, quantitative and qualitative analyses of the interannual and seasonal variation of the thermal environment in the urban area of Chongqing were conducted using a combination of equal sector analysis, mathematical statistics, and principal component analysis. In addition, the mechanism by which multiple integrated human and natural factors affect the urban thermal environment in different seasons was explored. The thermal environment of the land surface has a clear spatial correlation with built-up areas. From 2010 to 2020, the Liangjiang New Area and the western high-tech zone were the main areas of thermal environment area expansion. From 2010 to 2020, a decrease in the area of low-temperature zones and an increase in the area of high-temperature zones were the main trends. In particular, during the summer of 2020, the low-temperature zones almost disappeared, and the area of high-temperature zones was nearly twice as large as in the other seasons. The combined influence of multiple factors on surface temperature has certain seasonal characteristics. The slope, elevation, normalized water body index, fractional vegetation cover, normalized imperviousness index, and nighttime light intensity were the main factors affecting the surface temperature, whereas landscape pattern indicators, as well as the population and points of interest (POI) density, had a low influence. The strength of the combined influence of these multiple factors of the different seasons exhibited the following order: winter > spring > summer > autumn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Novel, potent and effective EZH2 degraders were developed. • Compound P4 can effectively induce EZH2 protein degradation and inhibit breast cancer cell growth. • Compound P4 can significantly decrease the degree of H3K27me3 in MDA-MB-231 cell line, induce apoptosis and G 0 /G 1 phase arrest in Pfeiffer and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. • Compound P4 significantly inhibited the migratory and invasive capacity of MDA-MB-231 cells at micromolar concentrations in a dose-dependent manner. • Adequate metabolic stability in vitro. EZH2 (enhancer of zeste homolog 2) is one of the most important histone methyltransferases (HMTs), and overexpression of EZH2 can lead to proliferation, migration and angiogenesis of tumor cells. But most of EZH2 inhibitors are only effective against some hematologic malignancies and have poor efficacy against solid tumors. Here, we report the design, synthesis, and evaluation of highly potent proteolysis targeting chimeric (PROTACs) small molecules targeting EZH2. We developed a potent and effective EZH2 degrader P4 , which effectively induced EZH2 protein degradation and inhibited breast cancer cell growth. Further studies showed that P4 can significantly decrease the degree of H3K27me3 in MDA-MB-231 cell line, induce apoptosis and G 0 /G 1 phase arrest in Pfeiffer and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Therefore, P4 is a potential anticancer molecule for breast cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, four normalized difference water index (NDWI) variants, i.e., NDWI(860,970), NDWI(860,1240), NDWI(860,1640), and NDWI(1240,1640) are generated from the corn-oriented PROSAIL radiative transfer model. It is found that, instead of the linear relationship derived in previous studies, corn canopy water content (CWC) is best approximated as an exponential function of NDWI. Following the analysis of the PROSAIL-generated results, a newly optimized NDWI-based scheme is proposed for estimating corn CWC according to variations in the performance of the four NDWI variants under different CWC conditions. Validation results based on independent field data from the SMEX02, HiWATER2012, and Baoding2018 field experiments verify that this optimized NDWI-based corn CWC estimating scheme has a higher accuracy ($R = 0.87\,\,\pm \,\,0.03$ , RMSE = 0.2068 ± 0.0145 kg/m2) than existing NDWI-based strategies for corn CWC retrieval. The feasibility of retrieving corn vegetation water content (VWC) based on the optimized NDWI-based scheme is also investigated, and the superiority of the optimized NDWI-based scheme for retrieving corn VWC is assessed. By comparing with four other NDWI-based corn VWC estimating methods, as well as the corn VWC parameterization scheme applied in the SMAP soil moisture algorithm, it is shown that our optimized NDWI-based scheme has the best VWC estimation accuracy, with the highest $R$ of 0.89 ± 0.02 and the lowest RMSE of 0.7179 ± 0.0555 kg/m2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thrombospondin (TSP) 1 is a trimeric multidomain protein that contains motifs that recognize distinct host cell receptors coupled to multiple signaling pathways. Selected TSP1-induced cellular responses are tyrosine kinasedependent, and TSP! contains epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like repeats. Specific receptor interactions or functions for the EGF-like repeats have not been identified. We asked whether one or more biological responses to TSP! might be explained through EGF receptor (EGFR) activation. In A431 cells, TSP! increased autophosphorylation of Tyr1068 of EGFR in a doseand time-dependent manner. The ability of TSP1 to activate EGFR was replicated by the tandem EGF-like repeats as a recombinant protein. The three EGFlike repeats alone produced a high level of Tyr-1068 phosphorylation. EGF-like repeats from TSP2 and TSP4 also activated EGFR. Tyr-1068 phosphorylation was less when individual EGF-like repeats were tested or flanking sequences were added to the three EGF-like repeats. TSP1 and its EGF-like repeats also increased phosphorylation of EGFR Tyr-845, Tyr-992, Tyr-1045, Tyr-1086, and Tyr-1173, activated phospholipase Cγ, and increased cell migration. No evidence was found for binding of the EGF-like repeats to EGFR. Instead, EGFR activation in response to TSP1 or its EGF-like repeats required matrix metalloprotease activity, including activity of matrix metalloprotease 9. Access to the ligand-binding portion of the EGFR ectodomain was also required. These findings suggest release of an endogenous EGFR ligand in response to ligation of a second unknown receptor by the TSPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leptin’s actions on certain cells require a leptin-inducible neurotransmitter, norepinephrine (NE). NE modulates hepatic fibrosis. Therefore, decreased NE may explain why leptin deficiency inhibits hepatic fibrosis. We manipulated adrenergic activity in leptin-deficient ob/ob mice, leptin-sufficient, dopamine β-hydroxylase deficient (Dbh−/−) mice, and HSC cultures to determine if leptin requires NE to activate HSC and induce hepatic fibrosis. ob/ob mice have chronic liver injury, but reduced numbers of HSC. Supplemental leptin increases HSC, suggesting that leptin-dependent, injury-related factors permit expansion of HSC populations. NE also increases HSC numbers and activation, normalizing fibrogenesis. When fed hepatotoxic diets, NE-deficient Dbh−/− mice fail to accumulate activated HSC and have impaired fibrogenesis unless treated with adrenergic agonists. NE acts directly on HSC to modulate leptin’s actions because leptin increases HSC proliferation and prazosin, an α-adrenoceptor antagonist, inhibits this. Thus, leptin permits injury-related increases in adrenergic activity and requires NE to activate HSC and induce hepatic fibrogenesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gaseous pollutants transport inside liquid micro-cylinders with internal circulations in an equilateral triangular configuration is simulated to study the effects of varied gap-ratio (1 ≤ G / R ≤ 4), Reynolds (Re) number (30 ≤ Re ≤ 160) and incident angle (α = 0° , 30° and 60°) on the absorption in a uniform gaseous stream. The shear stress fluctuates with spatial position on the interface due to unsteady flow separation and attachment. Furthermore, the 'primary' and 'secondary' vortexes inside liquid micro-cylinders are induced, respectively, where soluble gaseous pollutants are quickly entrained and partially blocked into liquid micro-cylinders by 'inflow' and 'outflow' type circulations pair at the stern regions, respectively. For incident angles α = 0 ° and α = 60 ° , the symmetric flow forms because of the symmetric configuration of liquid micro-cylinders, while for incident angle α = 30 ° , the asymmetric flow appears due to asymmetric arrangement. The 'primary' (large clockwise) and 'secondary' (small counterclockwise) vortexes usually depending on Re number and G / R facilitate gaseous pollutants intrusion into liquid micro-cylinders at separation point. The sensitivity of gap-ratio is presented based on the transient accumulation (m so 2 ′), which characterizes the exact influence of G / R. The larger gap-ratio facilitates faster saturation of sulfur dioxide inside liquid micro-cylinders because of fully developed internal vortexes. As R e number increasing, the gaseous pollutants transport could be significantly enhanced because internal vortexes become gradually stronger. In addition, the incident angle has no significant effect on pollutants transport inside liquid micro-cylinders because of slightly direct interaction between separated shear layers and wakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deformable thermoelectrics have great potential in self‐powered flexible or hetero‐shaped electronics. The exceptional room‐temperature plasticity recently discovered in several inorganic semiconductors makes it possible to develop new thermoelectric (TE) materials with both high performance and intrinsic deformability. Nonetheless, all the known plastic or ductile TE materials are n‐type semiconductors. It is urgent to explore p‐type counterparts for device design and fabrication. In this study, the first p‐type plastic inorganic TE material is reported. Via alloying Cu in n‐type plastic Ag2S0.7Se0.3 to modulate the charged crystal defects, (Ag1−xCux)2S0.7Se0.3 (x = 0.7–0.8) can simultaneously realize good plasticity and p‐type conduction. Particularly, (Ag0.2Cu0.8)2S0.7Se0.3 with a hexagonal structure shows a maximum zT of 0.42 at 800 K. Via the introduction of Cu deficiencies, the good plasticity is well maintained while the maximum zT is greatly enhanced to 0.95 at 800 K, a record‐high value for plastic TE materials. This study is expected to accelerate the development of plastic TE semiconductors and full‐inorganic deformable TE devices for the application in hetero‐shaped power generators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The stable cone-jet occurs in a certain range of electric potential and flow rate. • The electrified meniscus forms appears successively convex, linear sides and concave with an increase in electric potential. • The jet breakup transits from varicose to kink instability with an increase in flow rate. The cone-jet is one of the most interesting means in electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) for wide applications because of highly charged and monodisperse drops. The pulsating and stable cone-jet modes in EHDA of diethyleneglycol (DEG) are observed by means of high-speed photography technology, as well as the breakup modes transition of electrified jet from varicose to kink instability. The conductive liquid is driven to form a liquid cone at the outlet of the capillary tube, and form a permanent jet from the apex of the cone by the tangential electric stress. With an increase in electric potential, the cone angle and jet length increase. The electrified meniscus and the cone may appear convex, linear sides and concave in cone jet regime, which depends on the static equilibrium of forces exists at each point of electrified liquid surface. The jet breakup modes with multi-jet, varicose and kink instabilities are successively recorded as liquid flow rates increasing. The jet breakup transition depends on flow rate. The drops size rises proportionally with an increase in liquid flow rate or a decrease in electric potential in stable cone-jet mode. The dimensionless diameter d / d 0 as a function of the dimensionless flow rate q V / q m is in good agreement with the universal scaling laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental pollution caused by waste plastics and their potential of resource recovery are receiving increasing attention. In this study, a molecular level kinetic model was established to simulate the polypropylene pyrolysis based on the SOL method, Poisson distribution model and genetic algorithm, which was simplified and effective without the introduction of extensive chemical databases and stiff differential equations. The automatic generation of complex reaction network was based on the representation of species and reactions at molecular level and the design of 14 reaction rules consistent with the mechanism. The model prediction achieved good agreement with experimental data affected by the primary and secondary reactions, verifying the generalizability of the models. The model prediction according to the kinetic parameters provided guidance for the pyrolysis experiments. In general, the molecular-level model behaves exquisite in the evaluation, validation, and prediction, and can gain an insight into the pyrolysis of polymers. • A molecular level kinetic model with automatic reaction network generation is established for polypropylene pyrolysis. • The automatic network generation is based on the Poisson distribution model, the SOL method and the design of reaction rules. • This model achieves excellent agreement with experimental data and can predict pyrolysis performance in more details. • The important role of temperature on the pyrolysis and the competition of two scissions are quantified by this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pyroptosis is a pro-inflammantory type of regulated cell death in CVD and gasdermin family is the effector. • Caspase-3/GSDME and caspase-8/GSDMD also can induce pyroptosis. • Targeting to pyroptosis-related pathway provides a promising research direction for the treatment and diagnosis of CVD. Pyroptosis is a pro-inflammatory type of regulated cell death (RCD) characterized by gasdermin D (GSDMD)-mediated membrane pore formation, cell swelling and rapid lysis, followed by the massive release of pro-inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-1β and interleukin-18. There are two main pathways of pyroptosis: the caspase-1-mediated canonical pathway and the caspase-4/5/11-mediated noncanonical pathway. However, the caspase-3-gasdermin E (GSDME) pathway and caspase-8-GSDMD pathway also induce pyroptosis. Pyroptosis can not only cause local inflammation but also lead to amplification of the inflammatory response. Recent studies have suggested that pyroptosis is closely related with cardiovascular disease (CVD); for example, in atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, ischemia-reperfusion injury, heart failure, coronary calcification and aortic aneurysm, study results have promoted the development of inhibitors targeting the components related to pyroptosis, and some agents have been clinically proven to have cardiovascular benefits. In this review, we summarize emerging evidence to discuss the progressive understanding of pyroptosis and the pathways, effect and effectors of pyroptosis, as well as the role of pyroptosis in CVD. Additionally, we summarize pyroptosis-related pathway inhibitors and classic cardiovascular drugs targeting pyroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the alterations of brain volumetry and associated structural covariance at lobar level in cerebral small-vessel disease (CSVD) with and without cognitive impairment.Method: Twenty-seven CSVD patients with mild cognitive impairment (CSVD-MCI), 37 CSVD patients with normal cognition (CSVD-NC), and 35 controls, underwent T1-weighted imaging of magnetic resonance. Volume of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) and a lobar atrophy index that measures the ratio of cerebrospinal fluid to brain parenchyma were quantified for each lobe. One-way ANOVA with multiple comparison corrections was performed to compare these volumetric measures. Volumetric structural covariance analyses were performed with lobar atrophy indexes to investigate the alterations of anatomical covariance within each pair of lobar regions in CSVD-NC and CSVD-MCI subjects compared with controls.Results: CSVD-NC subjects presented no significant volumetric differences with controls in any of the lobar regions. Compared with controls, CSVD-MCI patients presented significantly smaller volume of GM in bilateral frontal and parietal lobes, significantly smaller volume of WM in right cingulate lobe, and significantly larger lobar atrophy indexes of bilateral temporal, insular lobes and left cingulate lobe (P < 0.05). Both CSVD-NC group and CSVD-MCI group showed significant differences of structural covariance as measured by lobar atrophy index compared with controls. In particular, CSVD-MCI group showed even more extensive alterations of structural covariance, especially in bilateral cingulate and temporal lobes.Conclusions: There are alterations of brain volumetry and associated structural covariance within lobar regions in CSVD, which indicates the potential brain structural reorganization in CSVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrathin ferromagnetic films display a wealth of spectacular characteristics, one of which is that two-dimensional ferromagnetism is stabilized exclusively by magnetic anisotropies. In this work, we experimentally demonstrated the realization of ultrathin yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12) films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy by pulsed laser deposition. A labyrinthine magnetic domain configuration in Y3Fe5O12 was identified by magnetic force microscopy, qualitatively determining that the magnetic moment possesses an out-of-plane component. Magnetic moments in the Y3Fe5O12 film were investigated by using a vibrating sample magnetometer and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy. Due to the surface sensitivity, the characterization technique based on magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy presents as a high-resolution magneto-optical method to determine the magnetic property quantitatively, which has an advantage over the vibrating sample magnetometer technique commonly used for bulk crystals or powders, especially when the paramagnetic background from the supporting substrate is non-negligible. Our work introduces the burgeoning material synthesis and processing technology, and miscellaneous characterization techniques into the study of conventional magnetic oxide films, providing powerful supplements to the detection and modulation of magnetism at the nanoscale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The I 2 nanotraps were used by introducing adjacent IBSs and LBSs on the skeleton. • The absorbent shows high I 2 uptake capacity (37 wt%) among all COF materials. • IBSs and LBSs synergistically promote iodine adsorption. Covalent organic frameworks have been recognized as promising porous materials for the radioactive iodine capture. However, most COFs often suffer from low adsorption capacity under practical conditions (typically ≥ 150 °C, ≤ 150 ppmv I 2) due to the lack of strong binding sites and low affinity toward iodine, which restricts their application in industrial relevant conditions. Here, we develop a strategy of constructing highly efficient I 2 nanotraps by manipulating two kinds of adsorption sites (ionic binding sites and Lewis binding sites) located at adjacent spatial positions, thereby realizing the synergistic binding toward I 2. The obtained I 2 nanotrap 4F-iCOF-TpBpy-I- delivers a remarkable I 2 uptake capacity of 37 wt% at 150 °C and 150 ppmv of I 2 , which illustrate a record-high value for all COFs reported so far. This work opens a new avenue for the rational design of COF materials toward highly efficient I 2 capture and related application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aminopeptidase N (APN) is an important ectopeptidase involved in many physiological functions e.g. tumor angiogenesis, and the detection of APN activity thus facilitates the early diagnosis and elucidation of tumor development. Herein we propose a one-pot and one-step colorimetric sensing method for detecting APN activity based on a peptide functionalized gold nanoparticles/cucurbit[8]uril (pep-AuNPs/CB[8]) supramolecular structure. In principle, a peptide that comprises both the recognition sequence of APN and binding motif of CB[8] is first functionalized onto the surface of AuNPs. Because CB[8] can interact with two binding motifs simultaneously, the assembly of pep-AuNPs and CB[8] consequently take place, leading to the formation of pep-AuNPs/CB[8] supramolecular structure. However, in the presence of APN, the peptide will be hydrolyzed by APN, resulting in the breach of binding motifs of CB[8] as well as the prevention of the formation of pep-AuNPs/CB[8] supramolecular structure. In this way, the activity of APN can be determined through the absorbance changes based on the assembly/disassembly of AuNPs. Under optimized conditions, the detection of APN activity is achieved in a linear range from 5 μg/mL to 15 μg/mL with a detection limit of 0.42 μg/mL, which is also available directly in serum samples. Because of the simplicity and the cost-efficient materials, the method is competent for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α-MgAgSb is considered as a potential near-room-temperature thermoelectric material in virtue of its excellent electrical properties, ultralow lattice thermal conductivity and abundant constituent elements. However, it is hard to obtain high-quality phase pure α-MgAgSb due to its complex phase transition and high reactivity of element Mg, which cloaks material's intrinsic thermoelectric performance. Herein, through adopting a tantalum-sealing melting technique, we achieved highly-quality pure α-MgAgSb with large grain size and less oxygen content, as compared with our ball milled samples. The as-synthesized tantalum-sealing melted α-MgAgSb, without element doping or alloying, exhibited intrinsically low thermal conductivity, large weighted mobility, and high carrier concentration closes to the optimum range. Eventually, we attained a maximum thermoelectric figure of merit zT value of 1.3 at around 500 K in the tantalum-sealing melted α-MgAgSb. The average power factors and average zT values are also as high as 25 μW cm−1 K−2 and 1.1 respectively in the low-temperature range of (300 - 550) K, both of which rank as top values among the known materials. This study not only sheds new light on the understanding of intrinsic properties of α-MgAgSb but also demonstrates its great promise for harvesting low-grade waste heat. Record-high average power factor of 25 μW cm−1 K−2 and average zT of 1.1 were achieved in the melted α-MgAgSb sythesized by the tantalum-sealing melting technique. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arg-1Ym-1 M2-type macrophages play essential roles in the development of choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Thus, inhibition of M2-type macrophages may be effective in suppressing CNV. However, the potential mechanisms of macrophage polarization during development of CNV remain unclear. In this study, we report that microRNA-155 (miR-155) inhibited M2 polarization by targeting C/EBPβ in CNV model mice and in bone marrow-derived primary macrophages. Moreover, our data show that intravitreous injection of miR-155 mimics suppressed subretinal leakage and neovascularization. Therefore, we conclude that C/EBPβ plays a significant role in M2 macrophage polarization in CNV model, while miR-155 mimics could suppress CNV by inhibiting C/EBPβ activity and M2 macrophage polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the explosive economic development of China over the past few decades, air pollution has become a serious environmental problem and has attracted increasing global concern. Using satellite-based PM 2.5 data from 2000 to 2015, we found that the temporal-spatial variation of PM 2.5 in East China is characterized by high concentrations in the northern part and low concentrations in the southern part of East China, and by being seasonally high in autumn and winter but low in spring and summer. We also found that the regional average PM 2.5 concentration shows an approximative peak pattern over the last 16 years, with the highest, 60.13 μg m − 3 , and the lowest, 46.18 μg m − 3 , occurring in 2007 and 2000, respectively. Despite obviously diminishing heavy polluted regions with a PM 2.5 of > 80 μg m − 3 after 2011, those cells dominated by natural background have still not recovered back to the clean level of 2000. These characteristics are valuable information to analyze the relative contributions of anthropogenic emissions and atmospheric conditions to the temporal-spatial variation characteristics of PM 2.5 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The mixed-potential NOx sensor based on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and oxide electrode is considered as a potential device used for the on-board diagnostics. Over the past decades, many researchers have paid their attentions on such YSZ based potentiometric NOx sensors and gotten a lot of achievement in developing new type electrode materials. Recently, in order to enhance the sensing performance of the mixed potential type NOx sensor, we have been focusing on modifying the triple-phase-boundary (TPB) by various techniques, including chemical corroding, the double-tape casting, the pore-forming and laser fabrication method. We also designed and prepared the microstructure of the oxide electrodes by controlling the sintering process for increasing the sensitivity of the NOx sensor. This paper reviews our works with regard to the above-mentioned two aspects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Urban impervious surfaces area (ISA) and green space (GS), two primary components of urban environment, are pivotal in detecting urban environmental quality and addressing global environmental change issues. However, the current global mapping of ISA and GS is not effective enough to accurately delineate in urban areas due to the mosaicked and complex structure. To address the issue, the hierarchical architecture principle and subpixel metric method were applied to map 30 m global urban ISA and GS fractions for the years 2015 and circa 2020. We use random forest algorithms for retrieval of the Normalized Settlement Density Index and Normalized Green Space Index from Landsat images using Google Earth Engine. The correlation coefficients of global urban ISA and GS fractions were all higher than 0.9 for 2015 and circa 2020. Our results show global urban ISA and GS areas in circa 2020 were 31.19 × 104 km2 and 17.16 × 104 km2, respectively. The novel ISA and GS fractions product can show potential applications in assessing the effects of urbanization on climate, ecology, and urban sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A series of mixed W/Cr oxides with different ratio of W and Cr (1:6, 1:2 and 3:2) have been prepared by using polymeric precursor method. By comparing their sensitivities to 20–300ppm NO2, it was found that the sensor using oxide with 3:2 W/Cr gave the largest response value. For 3:2 W/Cr oxide, the effect of the sintering temperature on the electrode microstructure was also investigated. As a result, the device sintered at 1000°C showed the best performance. The response value to 100ppm NO2 is 51.6mV, the response time is within 20s and the sensing device also shows an excellent selectivity against other coexisting gases. The characteristics of SEM and TEM revealed that the special microstructure of oxide electrode formed by sintering plays a significant role in better sensing performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A series of tungstate MWO4 (M=Co, Zn and Ni) has been prepared by the polymeric precursor method. Meanwhile, yttria stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) based sensors using these oxides as sensing electrodes were investigated, and among the oxides tested, CoWO4 was found to be the most suitable for the sensing electrode (SE) of the ammonia sensor. The sensor attached with CoWO4 shows the fast response and recovery characteristics (not more than 5s respectively) and large sensitivity (−51mV/decade) at elevated temperature. The electric potential difference (∆V) of the sensor varies almost linearly with the NH3 concentrations in the examined range of 50–1000ppm. The SEM observation reveals that the special microstructure of CoWO4-SE, bulky rod-like crystals coated by tiny particles, plays a significant role in sensing performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In response to injury, airway epithelia utilize an epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) signaling program to institute repair and restitution. Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) counterregulate EGFR autophosphorylation and downstream signaling. PTPμμ is highly expressed in lung epithelia and can be localized to intercellular junctions where its ectodomain homophilically interacts with PTPμμ ectodomain expressed on neighboring cells. We asked whether PTPμμ expression might be altered in response to epithelial injury and whether altered PTPμμ expression might influence EGFR signaling. In A549 cells, diverse injurious stimuli dramatically reduced PTPμμ protein expression. Under basal conditions, small interfering RNA (siRNA)-induced silencing of PTPμμ increased EGFR Y992 and Y1068 phosphorylation. In the presence of EGF, PTPμμ knockdown increased EGFR Y845, Y992, Y1045, Y1068, Y1086, and Y1173 but not Y1148 phosphorylation. Reduced PTPμμ expression increased EGF-stimulated phosphorylation of Y992, a docking site for phospholipase C (PLC)γγ1, activation of PLCγγ1 itself, and increased cell migration in both wounding and chemotaxis assays. In contrast, overexpression of PTPμμ decreased EGF-stimulated EGFR Y992 and Y1068 phosphorylation. Therefore, airway epithelial injury profoundly reduces PTPμμ expression, and PTPμμ depletion selectively increases phosphorylation of specific EGFR tyrosine residues, PLCγγ1 activation, and cell migration, providing a novel mechanism through which epithelial integrity may be restored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium oxide films were deposited on low temperature isotropic pyrolytic carbon (LTI-carbon) by ion beam enhanced deposition, and its mechanical properties such as ultramicrohardness, adhesion strength and fatigue property were studied. The microhardness of titanium oxide films prepared at different experimental conditions is maintained between 900 and 1000 kg/mm2, when measured by UMHT-3 ultramicrohardness tester installed in the scan electronic microscope. The adhesion strength measurement results show that the adhesion strength of titanium oxide films on LTI-carbon substrate is approximately 0.314–0.47 GPa. The deposition of Ti interlayer is beneficial to improve the adhesion strength of the film. Subsequently, the film with the highest adhesion strength was coated on mechanical heart valves, and the fatigue and wear resistance of the film was investigated in a simulated heart-valve-working environment. After 675 500 times of opening-and-closing cycles, a circular abrasion trail appeared, whereas titanium oxide was still present in this area. No peel of the film was observed. When the cycles increased to 1 617 000 times, a small part of the film located at the inboard boundary of the wear trail peeled off, however, Ti still could be detected in the wear trail region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Keywords: defect engineering; flexible electronics; plastic inorganic semiconductors; thermoelectrics EN defect engineering flexible electronics plastic inorganic semiconductors thermoelectrics 1 1 1 06/21/21 20210617 NES 210617 In article number 2100883, Pengfei Qiu, Tian-Ran Wei, Xun Shi, and co-workers develop the first p-type plastic inorganic thermoelectric material. Thermoelectrics: p-Type Plastic Inorganic Thermoelectric Materials (Adv. Defect engineering, flexible electronics, plastic inorganic semiconductors, thermoelectrics. [Extracted from the article]

Soil moisture (SM) is a fundamental environmental variable for characterizing climate, land surface and atmosphere. In recent years, several SM products have been developed based on remote sensing (RS), land surface model (LSM) or land data assimilation system (LDAS). However, little knowledge is available in understanding spatial patterns of the uncertainty of different SM products and potential regional drivers over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), a complex environment for accurate SM estimation. This paper investigates the sensitivity of the SM uncertainties based on the three-cornered hat (TCH) method and a generalized additive model (GAM) in terms of underlying surface characteristics (sand fraction, soil organic matter, vegetation, land surface temperature, and topography) and near-ground meteorology (precipitation and air temperature) in the third pole environment over the 2015–2018 period. Eleven SM products are involved in this work, including Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity INRA-CESBIO (SMOS-IC), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Land Surface Parameter Model (LPRM), Climate Change Initiative - Active/Combined (CCI_A/CCI_C), Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim), Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model product a/b (GLEAM_a/GLEAM_b), and Random Forest Soil Moisture (RFSM). Results show that most of the SM products perform well across QTP, while SMOS-IC is strongly affected by radio-frequency interference in this region, JAXA has a relatively higher noise level over QTP, and LPRM has larger relative uncertainties (RUs) in the southeast of QTP. Nonlinear regression analysis demonstrates that variations of RUs in SMOS-IC and JAXA are driven by topography, while LPRM's are mainly controlled by vegetation. In addition, two groups of opposite (positive/negative) effects from topography and vegetation, topography and precipitation, and precipitation and land surface temperature affect the spatial variations of RUs in CCI_A, RFSM, and ERA-Interim, respectively. Meanwhile, more complex relationships are found between multiple surface factors and RUs of different products. In general, the underlying surface factors explain on average 39.41% and 28.34% of the variations in RS and LSM/LDAS SM RUs, respectively. Comparatively, the near-ground meteorology factors have a slightly larger effect on LSM/LDAS products than that on RS products. • Three-cornered hat (TCH) method is used to estimate the uncertainties in multisource soil moisture products over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. • Field measurements from three in-situ networks are adopted to evaluate the estimated TCH results. • A two-stage data detection method is utilized to quantify the spatial variations in SM uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Few studies have analyzed the utilization of millet straw as raw materials in the preparation of superabsorbent resin. • The product had excellent water absorbency and slow-release property. • The product prepared by millet straw not only reduces production cost, but also promote plant growth. • Application of the fertilizer could achieve the goal of straw return to soil. To enhance utilization of waste straw and improve fertilizer efficiency, a novel semi-interpenetrating polymer network fertilizer (MSP-g-AA/PVA-APP) synthesized from straw cellulose and linear polymer was prepared by solution polymerization. The ammonium polyphosphate (APP) was introduced to supply nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients. The prepared materials were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The water absorbency and slow-release behavior of MSP-g-AA/PVA-APP were also studied. The results indicated that MSP-g-AA/PVA-APP exhibited excellent water absorbency of 681.3 g/g in distilled water and enhanced the water retention capacity of soil. The cumulative N and P release rates of MSP-g-AA/PVA-APP were 55.1 % and 47.3 % after 30 days in soil, respectively. The effect of MSP-g-AA/PVA-APP on growth of wheat was studied, and the results show that the application products could facilitate the growth of wheat. It could be concluded that the product with water retention and slow-release property, being low costs and friendly to environment, had great potential for application in agricultural. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The droplet formation in electric periodic dripping regime was visualized. • The oscillation of electrified meniscus was visualized and identified. • The characteristic frequency deceases with an increase in applied potential. • The amplitude increases as electric number increasing. The dynamics of droplets and oscillation of electrified meniscus at low flow rates in an external electric field were investigated. An electric field is created by nozzle-plated electrode. The evolution of droplet formation is recorded by a high-speed digital camera. Meanwhile, the time evolution of meniscus is also focused. The critical sizes of the droplet and liquid thread were used to characterize the dynamics of droplet formation and oscillation of the meniscus. The results showed that a droplet gradually originates from a hemispherical meniscus and changes from spherical to pear-shaped. A liquid thread connects the meniscus and primary droplet, and pinches off as time advances. The droplets diameter decreases as electric potential increasing and is dependent of capillary diameter, while usually independent of flow rates. The droplet limiting length decreases, while the liquid thread diameter increases as electric Bond number increasing. The period of detachment decreases with an increase in electric potential and strongly depends on flow rate. The meniscus usually oscillates when the primary droplet detaches. The oscillation frequency increases as electric field strength increasing and is substantially affected by flow rate. An approximate equation to predict the oscillation frequency was presented, where the electric potential was taken into account. The variation of the oscillation frequency is qualitatively good agreement with experimental work. The amplitude of oscillation (or displacement) is significantly affected by electric field and increases as electric Bond number increasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new operational model with ant-miner algorithm was proposed to predict the risk of forest fires in cloud-rich areas. • The performance of proposed model was compared with that of the national risk prediction model of China. • The proposed model was compared to other risk prediction models with two classical machine learning algorithms. • The ant-miner algorithm-based model was more effective and reliable. Annually, millions of hectares of forest lands around the world are destroyed by fires. To minimize the fire-caused losses, more studies on the risk prediction of forest fires need to be carried out. For predicting the risk of forest fires in cloud-rich areas (e.g., the southwest of China), the synergetic use of operational forecasting systems and remote sensing-based models is expected to have a consistent performance. Therefore, we proposed in this study a new model based on ant-miner algorithm which has a good capability of solving multivariable and non-linear problems in the synergetic modeling of multi-source data. Based on historical fire data during 2000–2018 in Chongqing city, its performance was tested, and then was compared with that of other three models (i.e., meteorological data-, Artificial Neural Network-, and Support Vector Machine-based models). Results showed that, without interference from human factors, the risk predictions of proposed model were more objective. And, its mined-rules were easier to understand and also portable across multiple GIS platforms. Moreover, the proposed model has a better performance at predicting risk levels (i.e., overall accuracy was 79.02% and Kappa coefficient was 0.678) and the spatial distribution of its predictions were more detailed. This research indicated that the ant-miner algorithm-based model was more effective and reliable, and it could be used for constructing the operational system of risk predictions for forest fires in cloud-rich areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a primary air pollutant, fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) is increasingly attracting attention. Crowdsourcing observations based methods are thought to be the best solutions for identifying the spatio-temporal distribution of PM 2.5 in intra-urban areas. However, inconsistent timing in the collection of crowdsourced data has typically been ignored in previous studies. To address this issue, a temporally calibrated method (TCM) was introduced in this study. By interpolating TCM-estimated observations using the inverse distance weighted (IDW) method, variations of PM 2.5 concentrations across the urban areas of Changsha City were captured. The results demonstrate that TCM can efficiently resolve the inconsistent timing defects of raw crowdsourcing observations (R 2 was 0.73 and the RMSE was 7.65 μg/m3). Furthermore, PM 2.5 distributions developed using TCM-based interpolations are of a finer spatial scale than those developed from raw observations at crowdsourcing locations. With a lack of funds to build sufficient stationary monitoring sites, developing crowdsourcing observation-based technology is the most promising solution for revealing intra-urban PM 2.5 variations at a higher spatio-temporal- resolution. Image 1 • A temporal calibration method was introduced for crowdsourcing air quality data. • TCM can eliminate time inconsistence of original crowdsourcing based PM 2.5 concentrations. • Intra-urban variations of PM 2.5 concentrations were revealed by densely observation. • Crowdsourcing observation is effective for fine scale air quality mapping in urban area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, global forest fires have occurred more frequently, seriously destroying the structural functions of forest ecosystem. Mapping the burn severity after forest fires is of great significance for quantifying fire's effects on landscapes and establishing restoration measures. Generally, intensive field surveys across burned areas are required for the effective application of traditional methods. Unfortunately, this requirement could not be satisfied in most cases, since the field work demands a lot of personnel and funding. For mapping severity levels across burned areas without field survey data, a semi-supervised transfer component analysis-based support vector regression model (SSTCA-SVR) was proposed in this study to transfer knowledge trained from other burned areas with field survey data. Its performance was further evaluated in various eco-type regions of southwestern United States. Results show that SSTCA-SVR which was trained on source domain areas could effectively be transferred to a target domain area. Meanwhile, the SSTCA-SVR could maintain as much spectral information as possible to map burn severity. Its mapped results are more accurate (RMSE values were between 0.4833 and 0.6659) and finer, compared to those mapped by ∆NDVI-, ∆LST-, ∆NBR- (RMSE values ranged from 0.7362 to 1.1187) and SVR-based models (RMSE values varied from 1.7658 to 2.0055). This study has introduced a potentially efficient mechanism to map burn severity, which will speed up the response of post-fire management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel electrochemical biosensing method that can take into account both immunoassay and enzyme activity analysis was reported in this work for determination of the enzymatically active human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1). The basic principle is to design and construct a DNA catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) triggered by APE1 catalysis in enzyme activity analysis, and the assembled DNAs are labeled with electrochemically active CdS and PbS quantum dots to output electrochemical signals. In this system, the signal generation needs to satisfy both the conditions of immunological recognition and enzymatic catalysis, providing a basis for accurate analysis of active APE1. Results show that this method can reflect the regulation of the enzyme activity and can also distinguish APE1 from its isozymes with the same enzyme activity. The concept and successful implementation of this integrated system will contribute to the research and application of APE1 in biomedicine, and provide a reference for the accurate analysis of other enzymes. Image 1 • A novel electrochemical biosensing system is developed for the detection of APE1. • The strategy skillfully integrates immunoassay with enzyme activity analysis through an elaborate design. • The detection limit of APE1 biosensor is as low as 0.00518 U/mL. • The strategy can monitor the regulation of the enzyme activity by an inhibitor and discrimination of APE1 from its isozyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]